| US 7,490,494 B2 | ||
| Steam generation apparatus for washing machine | ||
| Jin-Woong Kim, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kyung-Chul Woo, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); and Si-Moon Jeon, Seoul (Korea, Republic of) | ||
| Assigned to LG Electronics Inc., Seoul (Korea, Republic of) | ||
| Filed on Jul. 12, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/178,426. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 10-2004-0054518 (KR), filed on Jul. 13, 2004; and application No. 10-2005-0016971 (KR), filed on Feb. 28, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0010937 A1, Jan. 19, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. D06F 39/04 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 68—15 | 25 Claims |
| 1. A laundry machine, comprising:
a cabinet configured to form an exterior of the laundry machine;
a drum configured to hold laundry;
a steam generation apparatus configured to generate steam, the steam generation apparatus comprising:
a case having an accommodating space which stores water, the case fitting within the cabinet of the laundry machine;
a water level sensor disposed inside the case to sense a level of water in the case, the water level sensor outputting a signal
when a level of water in the case reaches a predetermined level;
a heater configured to heat the water stored in the case; and
a heater overheating preventer configured to remove power to the heater when a temperature of the heater is above a set temperature;
a water supply line configured to supply water to the steam generation apparatus;
a steam supply line to supply the steam generated in the steam generation apparatus to the drum; and
controller configured to control operation of the laundry machine, the controller controlling the steam generation apparatus
to supply the steam to the drum when treating the laundry in the drum.
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